transset-df

About

This is a patched version of xorg's transset
I wanted to integrate transset into my windowmanager and to
be able to set and unset transparency by just pressing a key.
To make that possible I added several different 'select methods'.
The first one was 'select by pointing' which lets the user run transset
directly on the window curently under the cursor without having
to click. Later select by name and id was added after inspiration
from other transset patches.

In the future I guess it's meant for the windowmanagers to handle
transparency. Then we will hopefully see these functions and many other
now imposible function. This will however require you to wait untill this is
implemented in your favorite wm. This patch is a way of "scratching where it
itches", by creating a usefull integration with every windowmanager without
changing any wm-code. The "unix way" of doing it :)

Features

select window by clicking (as transset)

select window by pointing

select actual focused X11 window

select by window name or id

force toggle

increase or decrease opacity

Download

Install

First of all, for transparency to work in X you have to have a X-server with
XComposite extension working. transset-df is not a program that creates
transparency, it's a program that sets properties for windowses. These properties
must then be supported by the underlaying X-server. Im not going to go through
how to get xcomposite working, but if you can already set transparency with xorg'stransset then you can also do it with transset-df.

download transset-df from this page
type: tar zxf transset-df-X.tar.gz where X is the versionnumber
type: cd transset-df-X/
type: make
type: make install (you have to be root-user here)

Example of usage

I run Enlightenment 0.16 as my windowmanager, but what I'm about to explain would
work just as well in any wm that has configurable keybindings (hint: most wm's like
fluxbox, fvwm, gnome or kde will do just fine). Only the configuration would differ

Since I find it tricky to keep track of all different config-files I use the programe16keyedit to set keybindings from the gui. This is what I do:
run e16keyedit
click "New Keybinding"
in the upper right corner, click "Change"
press a key you don't use, for instance the left "window-key"
Choose "Run commmand" from the actions-list.
write "/usr/bin/transset-df -p -t 0.3" as parameter.
click "Save"

If everything worked as it should and you are running xcompmgr you can now press the
left window-button and the window where the cursor is will turn 30% transparent
Press again and it will switch back. If you started xcompmgr with the right flags
it will even automaticly fade in and out when switching :)

Another idea of how transset-df could be used is to bind it to the scrollwheel
Bind pressing alt + scrolling up to transset-df -p --inc 0.1 and
pressing alt + scrolling down to transset-df --min 0.1 -p --dec 0.2
The '--min'-flag makes sure you'll not be able to make windowses invisible
An example of how to bind to scrollwheel can be found here

eutotrans.rb

Eutotrans is a small ruby-script that creates a opacity-follows-focus behaviur
in enlightenment 0.16. Which means that the focused window is always opaque
while all the other windowses are transparent. Eutotrans is a simple example
of what transset-df could be used for. It has also spurred some offsprings:

focustran.pl
is a perl script that works with any windowmanager. Written by hacnslash.

Contact

Any questions/sugestions or if you just want to say hello don't fear to send
me a email: